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Panic In The Streets!
At the start of July, I attended Carnival in Veracruz, Mexico. For the unfamiliar, Carnival is a big celebration with parade floats, concerts, and lots and lots of drunk people.
The city flooded with tens of thousands of tourists, and all the main roads were filled with street parties.
At 2 PM, this was exciting.
At 9 PM, it was still fun. Especially once the parade started.
At 11 PM, it started getting tiresome.
And by 1 AM, I was exhausted.
Unfortunately, it was near impossible to get home. All the main roads were blocked off, and most of the taxis were already full. The few drivers who were available wanted 5 times their usual rate. And, walking was difficult because of all the crowds in the streets. Not to mention the heat. Or, how every convenience store was sold out of water and Gatorade.
I bring this up, because a fun holiday quickly turned into a difficult, sweaty hike through crowds and chaos as I tried to make my way home.
And if this is what happens in good times, imagine a serious disaster?
